Guard Passes – Giant Killer

Guard Passes For Smaller Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Grapplers

For us smaller grapplers out there, there are certain things that don’t always come naturally for us. Despite being able to slinky around the mat and even make our larger foes look a little foolish, basic Brazilian Jiu Jitsu movements such as passing the guard can be a major pain in itself!

Presenting various problems—especially against larger opponents—guard passing must be broken down into bits and pieces for my smaller brethren in order for us to properly utilize it in a live situation.

Not too long ago I wanted to find some solutions to this issue, so I borrowed a student of mine, who is a tad bit bigger than I am.
In this video, I go over a few different ways as to how smaller grapplers can break down their larger opponents and pass their guard…and possibly even scoring a slick submission finish!

Lightweight Grappling Dynamics
First off, there is one thing you’ll always want to avoid when going against a larger grappler and that’s trying to throw your weight around against them. If you try to steam roll them and enforce your will, there is a good chance it’ll work against you.
Even if they don’t train as often, they’re likely to have some strength, making it easy to bench press you right off of them.
This is why having a few different dynamics are important for us smaller folks.
Arm Wrestling Dynamic: This is force-on-force. Now, I know I said not to try and out muscle them, but this tactic is useful especially if we have gravity on our side. If we can utilize that to our favor, and put our opponents in the position where they have to fight off our own attack as well as gravity, then we’re in good shape.
The Dancing Dynamic: This is where us little guys shine! Using this technique, we can make our opponents dizzy! As you probably can tell, this approach relies on movement being able to rely on mobility. Ultimately, we would like to setup a leg drag or front headlock approach in order to pass our opponents guard.Using The Front Headlock To Beat Bigger Opponents
Being a numbers guy, a year or so back I studied tape of any and all grapplers. What I found was that we’re more likely to score the back mount than we are the side control as little guys. A good way to make this happen is by using the front headlock.
We set this up with our knee cut pass. As we make our move, we’ll want to bring our right hand to the mat while our left hand cups the head of our opponent. Next, release any leg that might be trapped in your opponents guard.
Lastly, pivot your hips outwards, while applying the front headlock. At this point, chances are very high that your opponent will go up to their knees, opening up guillotines or back takes!
And who said some people have unpassable guards?
Dan Faggella For Submissions101